News >> Industry News

US Electric Vehicles sales report for January 2014

The monthly electric vehicle (EV) sales report is provided by InsideEVs and is updated with the latest available information. After December 2013 ranked among the best selling months of the year for electric cars, 2014 has begun with lower sales numbers for EVs, reporting only 5,470 plug-in cars sold in the US in January.

With the expiration of the federal incentive of $7,500 credit (€5,480) for EVs on 2014 taxes, the sales of electric cars in January have dropped substantially compared to the sales numbers in December. While sales of plug-in vehicles in December 2013 reached 9,660, in January 2014, a total of 5,470 EVs were sold in the US, representing the sales of 16 car models.

InsideEVs still maintains that given the growth rate, EV sales are on pace to end the year at about 115,000 vehicles sold in 2014, which will still show a positive increase from the estimated 95,859 electric cars sold in 2013.

EV sales January 2014

January 2014 sales

Nissan Leaf

1,252

Chevrolet Volt

918

Toyota Prius PHV

803

Tesla Model S

800

Ford Fusion Energi

553

Ford C-Max Energi

471

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

141

Ford Focus Electric

100

Smart ED

97

Chevrolet Spark EV

93

Fiat 500e

80

Toyota RAV4 EV

63

Cadillac ELR

41

Honda Fit EV

30

Honda Accord PHV

27

Mitsubishi i-MiEV

1

Total

5,470

Details per carmaker

Chevrolet Volt: Sales of Chevrolet Volt have reached a 2 year low with only 918 cars sold in January 2014 (for comparison, 1,140 cars were sold in January 2013). The last time GM sold less than a 1,000 Volts was January of 2012 when 650 were sold.

Nissan LEAF: In January, 1,252 cars of this model were sold, representing a 92.6% gain over the January 2013 result of only 650 EVs sold. Although the sales are lower than in December 2013, the same as for all other EV models, this was still a pretty decent month for Nissan’s sales. It is important to mention that Nissan ended 2013 on a high note as 2,529 LEAFs were sold – the company’s best monthly result to date.

Cadillac ELR: January was the Cadillac ELR’s first full month on the market. In total, 41 ELRs were sold, which, according to the InsideEVs, is fairly impressive considering there was very little inventory for customers to choose from. The electric Cadillac went on sale in late December, and GM managed to sell 6 copies of the luxury Volt-based coupe before year’s end.

Tesla Model S: Tesla does not provide information on its monthly sales; therefore, the number is an estimate based on the previous sales. Tesla’s Q3 financials confirmed the first 9 months of sales at a level of about 15,500 units, with just over 14,000 sold domestically. InsideEVs estimates Tesla delivered about 800 Model S sedans in January. Results for February are expected to be significantly improved.

Chevrolet SPARK EV: 93 Spark EVs were sold between retail and fleet customers in January – the compact EV’s third best selling month since going on sale last summer.

Honda Fit EV: In January, 30 plug-in Honda Fits were sold. In short - almost every EV that Honda shipped to dealers was sold.

SMART ForTwo Electric Drive: In January, a very respectable 97 Smart EDs were sold after selling an amazing 167 in December. Looking ahead, the good news is that the car will be more widely available in February as smart makes good on a promise to market and sell the car nationally. With this promise in mind, Smart EDs are expected to easily surpass 2013 results in 2014.

Ford Fusion Energi: Despite a lot of seasonal influences, the Fusion Energi continued to be the jewel in Ford’s plug-in offer with 553 sold in January 553. Throughout 2013, Fusion Energi was the surprise hit of the Ford family. In December of last year, the Fusion reached 791 sales and finished the year with just over 6,000 cars sold. This is a good result considering the model was only introduced in February 2013.

Toyota Prius Plug-In: Despite the ‘start of the year blues’ and some difficult wintery conditions, January saw 803 Prius plug-ins sold, which is very close to the 2013 sales when 874 where sold in January.

Ford C-Max Energi: Like the Fusion Energi, the C-Max member of the Ford Family also showed decently strong numbers each month in 2013 – a trend that continued in 2014 as 471 were sold in January, leading to a 39% improvement over last year.

Toyota RAV4 EV: In January, 63 plug-in SUVs from Toyota were sold - more than double the 28 cars sold in December of last year.

Comments

No comments yet

To ensure the quality of the comments we receive, you need to be a member to post a comment. Not a member yet? Register now!